2018 American Athletic Conference softball tournament
The 2017 American Athletic Conference softball tournament was held at the USF Softball Stadium on the campus of South Florida in Tampa, Florida, from May 10 through May 12, 2018. The event determined the champion of the American Athletic Conference for the 2018 NCAA Division I softball season. Sixth seeded Tulsa won the Tournament for the third year in a row and claimed the American's automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Division I softball tournament.[2][3]
| Teams | 8 |
|---|---|
| Format | Single-elimination tournament |
| Finals site | |
| Champions | Tulsa (3rd title) |
| Winning coach | John Bargfeldt (3rd title) |
| MVP | Emily Watson (Tulsa) |
| Television | ESPN American Digital Network |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Florida †y | 14 | – | 7 | .667 | 39 | – | 23 | .629 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Houston y | 13 | – | 8 | .619 | 37 | – | 22 | .627 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UCF | 12 | – | 9 | .571 | 34 | – | 22 | .607 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wichita State y | 12 | – | 9 | .571 | 32 | – | 23 | .582 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Memphis | 10 | – | 11 | .476 | 37 | – | 21 | .638 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tulsa ‡y | 10 | – | 11 | .476 | 34 | – | 25 | .576 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| East Carolina | 8 | – | 13 | .381 | 23 | – | 32 | .418 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UConn | 5 | – | 16 | .238 | 20 | – | 35 | .364 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of May 31, 2018[1] Rankings from USA Today/NFCA Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Format and seeding
The conference's eight teams were seeded based on conference winning percentage from the round-robin regular season. The teams then played a single-elimination tournament.
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Seed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Florida | 14 | 7 | .667 | — | 1 |
| Houston | 13 | 8 | .619 | 1 | 2 |
| Wichita State | 12 | 9 | .571 | 2 | 3 |
| UCF | 12 | 9 | .571 | 2 | 4 |
| Memphis | 10 | 11 | 4 | .476 | 5 |
| Tulsa | 10 | 11 | 4 | .476 | 6 |
| East Carolina | 8 | 13 | 6 | .381 | 7 |
| UConn | 5 | 16 | .238 | 9 | 8 |
Results
Bracket
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| 1 | South Florida | 212 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | UConn | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | South Florida | 8 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Memphis | 7 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | UCF | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Memphis | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | South Florida | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Tulsa | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Wichita State | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Tulsa | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Tulsa | 7 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Houston | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Houston | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | East Carolina | 1 | ||||||||||||
Game results
| Date | Game | Winner | Score | Loser |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 10 | Game 1 | (6) Tulsa | 3–1 | (3) Wichita State |
| Game 2 | (2) Houston | 3–1 | (7) East Carolina | |
| Game 3 | (5) Memphis | 3–0 | (4) UCF | |
| Game 4 | (1) South Florida | 2–1 (12) | (8) UConn | |
| May 11 | Game 5 | (6) Tulsa | 7–3 | (2) Houston |
| Game 6 | (1) South Florida | 8–7 | (5) Memphis | |
| May 12 | Game 7 | (6) Tulsa | 4–1 | (1) South Florida |
All-Tournament Team
The following players were named to the All-Tournament Team.[3]
| Name | Pos. | School |
|---|---|---|
| Jill Stockley | P | UConn |
| Arielle James | 2B | Houston |
| Tierrah Williams | DP | Houston |
| Kyler Trosclair Klatt | SS | Memphis |
| Brooke Lee | 2B | Memphis |
| Macy Cook | C | South Florida |
| Lindsey Devitt | 2B | South Florida |
| Lauren Evans | 1B | South Florida |
| Julia Hollingsworth | OF | Tulsa |
| Haley Meinen | LF | Tulsa |
| Morgan Neal | 2B | Tulsa |
| Emily Watson | P | Tulsa |
Most Outstanding Player
Emily Watson was named Tournament Most Outstanding Player for the second consecutive year. Watson was a pitcher for Tulsa who earned the win in all three of the Golden Hurricane's wins en route to the title.[3]
References
- "Standings & Leaders". American Athletic Conference. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
- "2018 Softball Championship Central". American Athletic Conference. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
- "Tulsa Claims Third Consecutive American Softball Championship Title". American Athletic Conference. May 12, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2021.